Native Pride

Tonight I came across a espn.com article dealing with the on going debate nationwide over the use of Native American names/mascots being used by a multitude of universites. A group of professors(14) from the university of Illinois at Urbana-Champange have voiced anger over the use Chief Illiniwek.
Why have we come to determine that the use of Native American mascots is demaning and abusive? If done in a civil manner and traditons preformed with acordance to the respective tribe, why should these symbols of our history be erased? Pictured to the right is a drawing of Chief Osceola, known to many college fans around the country the mascot of Florida State University."The Seminoles of Florida call themselves the "Unconquered People," descendants of just 300 Indians who managed to elude capture by the U.S. army in the 19th century."
The United States of America has a horrific relationship with the Native American people. History books have posted this as "Manifest Destiny". Lest we not forget Native Americans are a wonderful people deeply rooted in our countries history. If we continue to bansih the use of Native American mascots and symbols, we once again will remove the history of our country. To forget our past, we loose the richness and importance of history.